An emotional and intellectual journey from faith to evidence.

FAQ

Why didn’t my comment post to your WordPress?

There is one, nearly universal reason why new commenters don’t get their comments posted on my WordPress blog: your comment wasgigantic. If you have enough to say that you could fill a blog post, then publish it on your own blog and post a link!

WordPress is not formatted clearly enough to handle comments more than 1,000 characters. And writing a first comment larger than 1,000 characters is kind of ridiculous anyways. That isn’t a conversation. It is a monologue. So, again, if you are going to do that, just go all the way and publish your “comment” on your own blog. Post a link if it is directly addressed to me.

In short, if your first comment is more than 1,000 characters, I am very unlikely to allow it on my blog.

I would like to engage you in a personal and/or private discussion or debate

I’m afraid I don’t have time to open a discussion with everyone who comes to my blog or facebook page requesting one. I know that from your perspective, you are just a single person exploring, hoping to engage another single person in exploring. But I receive these offers multiple times a month, sometimes multiple times a week. And I have been receiving them for years.

At first, I took people up on their challenges and invested hours of my time on personal discussions. Over time, I found that I wasn’t usually learning much from my challengers and that much of my time was wasted. They brought arguments I had already heard before and refuted, sometimes in the very video series that they had stopped watching in order to “engage me in a discussion”. I recommend that you finish the series as well before making assumptions about what you have to teach me.

I’m in the Deconversion section of the series and you have listed a lot of books. Could I get a list so I can go read them?

If you haven’t finished the series yet, you probably should before asking me for a list of books. You will find that I not only reference the books again but also explain them in detail as I finally read them myself in my own personal post-Deconversion journey.

I’m not trying to force my own opinions into your search, but I think I review the books fairly objectively and may actually save you some time.

Why do you use so many graphics to explain concepts? Do you think I’m stupid or a child?

I don’t use graphics because I think people are stupid. I use graphics to communicate information more rapidly and with less ambiguity. Graphics allow me to pack a higher density of information into a video in less time.

It is a common misconception that only children learn visually. A large percentage of our brain is devoted to visual processing and multi-modal learning has been demonstrated to increase learning speeds for anyone. We all communicate faster when explanations are accompanied by effective visual imagery, adult and child alike.

Have you read book X, which claims to provide evidence for God or refute atheist arguments?

I’ve read or read through many books that were recommended to me by Christians and subscribers which claimed to have knock-down evidence for God or rebuttals to atheists. Every single one of them contained arguments that were no better than the comments of the average YouTube Christian and were just as easily refuted.

So, in general, until a book gains enough popular notoriety, I won’t spend my time reading and refuting it.

Why do your videos have so many bells and whistles?

Every single detail in my videos serves a purpose. Every choice of music, every sound, and every graphic. I do not waste one second of time producing an element that does not in some way communicate the emotional or intellectual content of the story.

Music captures the mood. Graphics capture the concepts. Words capture the details.

Can you please make a video explaining how your parents responded to your atheism?

I understand that it is natural for people to be curious about this and I get asked this question A LOT.

Here is the inherent problem with me answering it in any kind of public way, especially with a video specifically devoted to the topic: unlike myself and most of the people I talk about in my series, my parents are not public activists. They are living, breathing, private people.

This means that, if I made a video about them, I would be publicly sharing private parts of their lives. I wouldn’t do it without their permission and I can guarantee you that they wouldn’t give me permission. Given the popularity of my channel, it is also possible that they could be confronted with the video by other Christians.

So it is unlikely that I will ever do a video about them. I know this is disappointing but it likely won’t change.

Here is what I can tell you: my parents know about this channel and my activism in the atheist community. However, I still have a fulfilling, loving relationship with them and visit them regularly. Even though they still identify as Christians themselves.

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14 comments on “FAQ”

I’m wondering if you have a transcript or even script you wrote for your youtube series. Which I’ve greatly enjoyed and that has many similarities to my own journey.

There are pieces I’d like to be able to read through and reference myself separately from the series, particularly in 3.3.3 But I’d really enjoy a transcript of the whole thing to date as well if one is available or easily created.

I thought so, just wanted to be sure it wasn’t me being bad at searching. Like I said in the most recent blog, I hope you take a look at a Kickstarter. There must be a lot of people wanting to have your series in DVD, me included. Imagine that, and then adding subtitles and selling all around the world? Many people have thought that their idea won’t sell in Kickstarter and their followers have proven them wrong time and time again. I’ve seen charity and comic development projects, even a space project is there. Just think about it and don’t hear the doubts in your head thinking it won’t work. I’d love to know that I could donate money to a cause that really matters, and your videos REALLY MATTER.

Hi, I found the whole series interesting just to understand what might go on for theists, never having been religious myself. But I was especially interested by what you said in the last 2 or 3 videos about experience from the world being the inspiration for ideas that may be considered as self-evident. Helped me understand what had always bothered me with this self-evident claim, so I am grateful to you for this : )
About evidence and rationality being the base of everything, sure, but the emotional side of what goes on in our minds often gets in the way of thinking in those terms. I find that the following approach helps immensely in reaching the state of mind where a rational discussion can take place:

Oh dear, I just realised that I rather went on in my initial comments – I think I just got excited. But I happened to start my own blog last night after seeing how excellent WordPress is, so now it will be links rather than rambles!

I know there are atheist groups meeting all over the country. But I don’t see them as organized as christian religions. I think that is a bad thing, do you? I know there are efforts politically to remove the tax free status from churches, and while I agree that they shouldn’t have it, I’m thinking a better strategy would be to use it to grow atheist organizations. (I often see small groups of atheists struggle to pay facility bills. Overall do you think it is a good thing for atheists to get together and commune, hear speakers, qualify our thinking? I see many of your responders and they all have their thoughts in order as to what they believe, but as for myself who is not a logic student.. it is much more difficult to put words to my feelings and thoughts

I am absolutely comforted by this series that I have found. I have been on this same amazing journey you describe, yet have not personally done the research you have done and I am glad I do not have to. My life has been turned upside down. I have gone through the classical stage of grief after having lost a 30 year relationship to evangelicalism; to religious community and the validation it brought me; to certainty, “knowing the truth”, having the “answers” for everyone. Have gone through denial, guilt, anger, bargaining and now am in acceptance. This new discovery has brought about a new relationship with each of my grown children as well as their father, whom I just divorced after 30 years. My biggest challenge right now is how to be honest with the many Christians I have known for years and years. They are shocked and saddened by my dropping out of their community. They surely are praying for me and strategizing how they can help me because something has obviously changed with me. When I encounter them and the same old platitudes they hand out, I do not know how to kindly but honestly respond to them. I have not desire nor need to DE convert anyone. I enjoy now looking at each individual without judgement or agenda!
I just would love to glean from others how they have dealt with those they were formerly in tight communion with religiously, those who truly have loving concern and sincere fears for those of us who have left the fold. None of us would have ever dreamed this would happen to someone like me who has always been the ultimate example of an “on fire” Christian who was such an amazing example of the transforming power of being “born again” by Jesus. I have now been “born again”, again! never felt freer, happier, more peaceful than I do now. I feel my conscience and morality have been sharpened. I would just love encouragement on being true to myself, on “coming out” in a sensitive way to those who love and care for me. Comments would be very welcome! This has been so hard, so scary but so awesome.
Joanie A.

Hi, I just wanted to say thank you for your insightful and respectful series on YouTube. I have only one question which I was hoping to find the answer to on this FAQ page – you mentioned speaking in tongues and I’m curious how such a phenomenon can be explained if not by a higher power? This is a genuine question and I hope you can take a minute to answer me. I promise I won’t ask any more questions than this one. Thank you :)